Backyard Fab Shop Build in NE Ohio

[Graham08]

A long overdue update...

My dad and I spent the winter getting the insulation done, the ceiling drywalled, and the attic floor put down. I ended up with R-19 in the walls and R-49 in the attic, except in the storage area down the center. In the center of the attic I have somewhere in the neighborhood of an R-35 by using 5" of polyiso foam board that I got from a guy on Craigslist. The foam insulation was salvage material, so I was able to get it cheap.

I've got around 400 sq ft of storage in the attic. That's about the same amount of space as my attached garage, so I'm excited about that!

I have also managed to get the planets to align and get the new electrical service hooked up. We now have 200 amp panels in both the house and the new shop, with a remote meter base. It took a bunch of phone calls to get the everything set up, but I am sure glad to not have a big extension cord running across the yard to work on the shop.

Since then, I've been working on getting the outside of the building birdproofed. Since the weather has warmed up, I've been fighting off the starlings that want to nest on any man-made structure they can find. This has mostly been a matter of getting the soffits up, and the porch ceiling closed in. My dad and dad-in-law helped a bunch last weekend to get the soffits finished, and the OSB on the porch ceiling. Here are a few pictures:

Here's a little closer shot of the soffit:

This is a Crane product. I really like the way it is made...it's vented soffit, but the vents are hidden in the ribs so they're not obvious. It's a really clean look. You can also see some of my aluminum work in this shot where I wrapped the beam that supports the porch roof.

There was a ton of time involved in this because I decided to get fancy and make little boxes to cover up the carriage bolts that connect the beam to the posts. I think it was worth the effort because it really cleans up the overall look. Here's a shot from the under the porch:

I have 12 recessed lights under here and boxes for 3 ceiling fans. The plan is to put the lights on a dimmer. The OSB is on the ceiling to provide a solid base for more vinyl soffit material. I'm hoping to get that done this weekend.

Hopefully the updates will be coming a little more often in the future...

 

[flybefree]

The metalwork on the beams really looks nice, good work.

Shaun

 

[Graham08]

Spent the weekend hanging siding and trim...one wall down, three to go!

 

[zmotorsports]

Graham, looks great. I thought the cars looked familiar, I recognized them and your username from the offroadfabnet.com forum.

Just out of curiosity, where did you perform your work before? Are the other pictures of your fabrication shop with your sprint cars the garage attached to the house or did you rent shop space somewhere?

Mike.

 

[Graham08]

Thanks!

The more recent pictures on OFN have been from my two car attached. I have way too much equipment crammed in there to be really productive...I have to move the bender outside to bend anything longer than about four feet, and have to move one thing to use another. Not good.

The older stuff (pre-2008) is from my old place, where I had a 32 x 48 detached shop. It was nice (especially compared to the two car attached garage) but wasn't layed out real well...looking back on it, I had a bunch of wasted space.

When my wife and I moved to get closer to work, we shopped around to find a property with enough space and the right layout to build a nice shop. It took a couple years to get our ducks in a row, but I think it has been worth the wait. Just got to get it finished!

 

[NUTTSGT]

I like that soffit material, pretty damn slick.

 

[Graham08]

Finished the siding over the weekend!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Looks damn nice, you pouring concrete under the porch ?

 

[Graham08]

Looks damn nice, you pouring concrete under the porch ?

Thanks!

We're definitely doing something out there. Originally the plan was some sort of stamped/stained concrete. But, we were at a friend's house that has an awesome paver brick patio, so now I'm thinking about doing that instead.

That's down the road, though. Got to get moved in first!

 

[Graham08]

Another way past due update...

It seems like I spent most of the summer hanging and finishing drywall. I am happy with the final result...it came out really nice, and looks great under a coat of satin white paint. I decided to go with a two tone color scheme, and the second color is a green/gray one shade darker than the siding. The idea was to not have something that looks funny when the overhead doors are open.

Here are a couple pictures:

The next step here is to get the trim installed. I'm doing a 1" x 6" around the "beltline" of the shop to give something solid to hang electrical boxes and conduit on. It also helps hide any ragged edges in the two-tone paint work. After a little thought, I (and my wife) have decided to make the trim between the white and green another color to break things up a little more.

This past Friday, I had seamless gutters installed. I went with 6" commercial gutters because, as the gutter guy said, "that's a lotta roof!" I couldn't be happier with them, they look great and are an exact match to the soffit and fascia. These are the heavy gauge (0.032") gutters, and have screw-in hangers every two feet.

I had never seen anyone install seamless gutter before. I was amazed that one guy could carry an entire 52' section without it buckling. The guys I used (Rainaway Gutter Systems) have been in business a long time, and it shows. They were on site a little over an hour to do the whole job.

The plan is to put in additional underground drainage, so the elbows and spouts at ground level will be going away soon.

With the messy part of the interior done (drywall and paint), I was finally able to install my lift. I got this thing in a trade for labor, and I've been tripping over it for almost a year. My dad, little brother, and neighbor all helped with the install.

This is an Eagle 9000 lb capacity two post. While it's not a Rotary or Mohawk, the build quality seems pretty reasonable other than the crappy Chinese hardware. I replaced all the hardware with this install. I think it's a great addition to my shop...I probably wouldn't own a lift at all if I had not gotten this in a trade.

Next up is wiring and heat. Updates should get a little more frequent as I make progress!

 

[25thz28va]

Great looking Shop! I'm planning to build a car detail shop with a wash bay inside and covered porch for washing cars outside. I hope to start early next year with the same ideas that you have here in this shop. Can't wait to see more pics. Thanks.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Better work on the heat before the snow flies. lol

 

[Dr Dave]

Nice shop, any pics of attec space? Are you going to wrap the porch posts?

You are going to love that hoist, sure beats a creaper and jack stands.

Dave

 

[Graham08]

Better work on the heat before the snow flies. lol

No kidding. I'm having a hard time getting plumbing contractors to return phone calls on running a gas line from the meter to the new shop. Trying another one today...

 

[Graham08]

Nice shop, any pics of attec space? Are you going to wrap the porch posts?

You are going to love that hoist, sure beats a creaper and jack stands.

Dave

No pics of the attic space just yet. Once I get some lights up there I'll take some...right now it's awful dark for that.

My plan is to stain the posts with opaque stain to match the trim. I've read that treated lumber does bad things to aluminum trim, so the effort of wrapping them would be wasted in a few years.

 

[jimmie jam]

Very nice build! The finish details will take forever.

 

[sethmo]

...

The doors are made by ProVia, and I am very impressed with the quality of them and the frames. Not cheap by any stretch, but I feel like they're a good value.

I'm making progress on insulation, and hopefully will be starting drywall soon.

Where did you get this door? Is it fiberglass or steel? I briefly looked on the ProVia website but did not see this particular door.

 

[Graham08]

I picked it up at Hartville Hardware here in Ohio. It is a steel door, it's what they refer to as a "camber-top" panel. The style number is an 002C-437.

 

[sethmo]

Awesome. Thanks!

 

[JC23]

Graham, you going to the Fremont or Canton swap meets?

 

[NUTTSGT]

No kidding. I'm having a hard time getting plumbing contractors to return phone calls on running a gas line from the meter to the new shop. Trying another one today...

That freaking *****, all these contractors bitching about not having work yet we hear about them not returning calls all the time. They want to pick and choose their work.

My plan is to stain the posts with opaque stain to match the trim. I've read that treated lumber does bad things to aluminum trim, so the effort of wrapping them would be wasted in a few years.

Even if you could wrap them, it'd look like **** after the posts dried out. Mine were nice and straight when I put them in. Now, all three of them have some warp, twist or bow in them.

 

[Graham08]

Graham, you going to the Fremont or Canton swap meets?

I was thinking about going to Fremont, but the weather forecast has scared me off. Going to stay here and work on the shop! Plus, the shop has eaten the racing budget...not much fun to just go look.

 

[Graham08]

That freaking *****, all these contractors bitching about not having work yet we hear about them not returning calls all the time. They want to pick and choose their work.

I got good news yesterday. The original contractor I talked to can do it next week. There is hope for heat before December!

 

[NUTTSGT]

He says next week but aren't they talking about a storm brewing up next week ?

 

[Graham08]

You know you're getting old when the highlight of your Friday night is changing oil!

The lift works great! It's a huge time saver compared to trying to jack the Trailblazer up and put it on stands. I also just got a Lisle 8 gallon lift drain, which works great, same as every other Lisle product I've ever bought.

I spent yesterday afternoon swapping the motor on my air compressor. I got it in the same trade as the lift, so I had no money invested, but I had to buy a motor and mag starter to switch it from three phase to single phase. I'm hoping to test run it this evening to verify the rotation on the motor...don't want to turn the pump over backwards!

 

[Graham08]

Some more progress to report. First, my gas line finally got installed a couple weeks ago. Now I'm saving my pennies to buy the heater. Here's a picture of the riser where it goes into the shop.

When that got done, I was able to get some dirt work completed around the building. This involved back filling and getting the grade run away from the building. The under-porch area is actually close to functional now...we got rid of all the topsoil and grass, and now have this:

Much better!

Inside, I've gotten pretty much all the trim put up, which will allow me to move forward on wiring. The reason for this is I have a 1 x 6 that's roughly 48" off the floor that runs all the way around the shop. This gives me a place to hang the electrical boxes for the outlets and the conduit without having to worry about where the studs are.

All the trim started off as 1x dimensional lumber I got at Menard's. I used a 1/2" radius corner rounding bit in the router to knock the corners off, then sanded and painted the same green as the lower section of the walls.

Here's the trim around the front man door:

Here's the 1" x 6" I was talking about for the electrical.

I also used a 1" x 4" around the bottom, which finishes off the transition from block to drywall. This is where the gas line comes in. I used a short piece of 1" x 8" here to hide where the line pokes through the drywall.

This is the stairwell area. I capped of the wall with a 1" x 6" for "handrail". Still need to get the steps painted.

I got a little carried away and trimmed out the overhead door hardware and around the breaker panel.

This week, I was able to get my compressor to its final resting place, which is in the closet under the steps. I still need to get a closet door; when that goes in, I'll be able to finish the last couple pieces of trim.

The closet is insulated, so the compressor shouldn't be too loud in the rest of the shop.

 

[Graham08]

One of the last projects I need to finish before heating the building is getting the opening over the stairs closed off. The attic is vented, so I need an attic door to keep all my heat from going out the ridge vent! Until I put a sheet of styrofoam over the opening, you could feel wind going up the stairs when running a torpedo heater. Not good.

The easiest way for me to close up the opening was to frame up a "door" out of 2 x 6's and cover the bottom with drywall. That way, the door meets fire code, and I was able to make it out of stuff I have on hand. Here's a picture of the door after getting a coat of paint:

I ran a metal corner bead around the outside and finished it with mud.

The only problem with this is it is pretty heavy. After drywalling, I put a scale under one end, and it weighed 74 lb (so the total weight is around 150 lb). That's a lot more that I want to try to lift over my head, so I wanted a way to counterbalance some of that weight.

Originally, I was looking at spring loaded retractors used to replace window weights, but they're in the neighborhood of $100 each, and I would need two. I decided just to use weight, and I'm in the process of making the hardware to use a cable, a couple of pulleys, and some lead shot to assist with opening the door.

After doing a little searching to get the density of #9 lead shot, I calculated that a 12" x 12" x 3" volume of shot would give me the weight I need. To give myself a little wiggle room, I made this 12" x 12" x 5" box out of 20 gauge steel.

The hanger is made out of 1/4" steel rod, which I bent using this guy:

The rod gets inserted between the posts, and manually bent around one. It took about 1/2 hour to make with some stuff I had laying around.

I made this bracket to attach to the door, and give my cable something to hook to.

I'm going to attach it to the door framing with 1/4" Simpson screws.

I got 1/8" stainless wire rope and pulleys from McMaster-Carr, as well as a piece of piano hinge for the door to swing on. I'm in the process of making the pulley brackets, so I'll update this thread in a couple days when I'm a little further along.

 

[vntperformance]

Great job.

 

[NUTTSGT]

The closet is insulated, so the compressor shouldn't be too loud in the rest of the shop.

Holy cow that breaker panel looks huge. Did you need that many circuits or was it just a good deal?


Do you think your compressor will get hot being enclosed in that small area ? What about being able to draw air, is that room vented ?

 

[Graham08]

The breaker panel is a 40 space and I doubt it will be filled. My father-in-law is a retired electrician, and he got the supplies for the new electrical service through a buddy of his. We updated the panel in the house as part of this project, and it has the same one. So it's sort of a combination of things...but I would rather have the big panel and not fill it than have to cram stuff in there.

I'm planning on putting some louvered aluminum panels in the stair risers to get fresh air to the compressor. I'll keep an eye on the temperature in there, but I'm not anticipating a problem. I don't think it will be any worse than having it in a small shed outside.

 

[bob_the_builder]

Very nice garage, how high are you ceilings?

 

[Graham08]

Very nice garage, how high are you ceilings?

Thanks. They're right at 13 feet.

 

[NUTTSGT]

The breaker panel is a 40 space and I doubt it will be filled. My father-in-law is a retired electrician, and he got the supplies for the new electrical service through a buddy of his. We updated the panel in the house as part of this project, and it has the same one. So it's sort of a combination of things...but I would rather have the big panel and not fill it than have to cram stuff in there.

I'm planning on putting some louvered aluminum panels in the stair risers to get fresh air to the compressor. I'll keep an eye on the temperature in there, but I'm not anticipating a problem. I don't think it will be any worse than having it in a small shed outside.

Sounds good man.

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

"I'm planning on putting some louvered aluminum panels in the stair risers to get fresh air to the compressor. I'll keep an eye on the temperature in there, but I'm not anticipating a problem. I don't think it will be any worse than having it in a small shed outside."


Just a thought about inside louvered panels; have you considered installing the air intake inside the compressor closet on an exterior wall? Couple of reasons I suggest that approach:
- Compressor noise would be significant coming through an interior louver
- Cooler outside air will always hold less moisture than the interior
- Cooler outside air will help keep the compressor space cooler


Just my $0.02

The build is looking great!

 

[Sunbimmer]

Love the paintscheme, very nice place you got

 

[Graham08]

Just a thought about inside louvered panels; have you considered installing the air intake inside the compressor closet on an exterior wall? Couple of reasons I suggest that approach:
- Compressor noise would be significant coming through an interior louver
- Cooler outside air will always hold less moisture than the interior
- Cooler outside air will help keep the compressor space cooler


Just my $0.02

The build is looking great!

Thanks for the suggestion...now you've given me something to think about. After all the work I've got involved in finishing the walls, I would have a hard time cutting a hole in the exterior wall, but those are all good points. The compressor is one of the first things I'm going to run power to, so I'll run it for a little bit without the closet door to get a gauge on how loud it is, then decide.

In the little bit I've had it running, I think it's pretty quiet. It's a Champion 5 HP 2 stage, and it is way quieter than the Speedaire 2 HP single stage I've been using in the attached shop.

 

[Sachseguy]

Great looking shop and nice fab work. I can't wait to see it all finished and full of tools.

 

[zmotorsports]

Looking great. Love the paint scheme/layout.

Mike.

 

[jeffmoss26]

Nice looking shop!!

 

[Fyrme]

Man, that is a great looking shop! I love the side porch. Get you a floor down, some chairs, a smoker, couple weather proof speakers under the roof, and you have a nice little hang out when the guys come over.